Posted lands that are not Private-recourse?

[Jesse Jaymes]

Put in quite a bit of time hunting new local grounds in north Idaho. And more than anywhere else in all my travels and hunts I've found more accessible lands that are Posted and have Private placards all over...yet these are legitimately accessible.

I've been informed to never trust OnX or BaseMap, however I run and utilize both aps. Are I am really not in the camp of "Well you never know". I strongly feel these are legit BS and inappropriate postings attempting to designate land/access as Private....when they are not.

In one particular instance.....there are Tribal placards that state No Trespassing placed on a gate fence post. The actual tribal land is approx 50+ YARDS from this access point and the gate is on legitimate accessible lands.

I've run into other issues with Private/No Trespassing signs are clearly on Timber Company owned lands, which allow walk in access with little restrictions.

Is there any recourse for these situations?

It's my opinion that these postings are to intentionally limit access, traffic, "keeping people out of our hunting area across the road". I also realize a large Timber Co is not going to assist in sorting things out.

But simply parking at these points and getting out in hunting attire and setting out to hunt....often escalates VERY quickly.

Thoughts on how to respond?

Much of the beauty of OnX and BaseMap is they've quickly revealed Land Status that just a few years ago...required pouring over the County Assessor sites and require a ton of hand sifting....which almost nobody was willing to do or push the parameters so to speak....and nobody hunted those place. I think now people are shocked and upset.

 

[bozeman]

Take them down.........

 

[Newtosavage]

Short answer - not much you can do.

This is classic western bullying. I've seen it for decades. They put their posted private property signs at intersections that are legitimate public routes of access to try and bluff people.

As you said, things can escalate very quickly. People who have taken advantage of public land their whole lives are just now being challenged on those claims and it's very upsetting to them. Add to that, that the local elected sheriff and even in some cases the game wardens, are personal friends with those folks and it can go downhill very, very quickly.

My usual 1st call is to the game warden. Because they are not elected, they tend to be more neutral and objective. They also tend to defend the hunter's right to access public land much more than the sheriff will, because they see hunting as a right and not just a choice.

If the local game warden tells you to back off, then I would follow their advice and go somewhere else, even if you think you're in the right. If they tell you go ahead, you'd better have their phone number on speed dial.

Pick your battles and be smart. I have gone in to hunt areas that I cleared with the local game warden a few times, only to find notes on my windshield and deflated tires when I came out. One hunt, I set my buddies up on some BLM land in New Mexico for the muzzleloader muley season. The first night they came back to their camp, they discovered someone had come in and poured all their water out on a campfire they never even used. They called the game warden (I gave them his number because I knew about one local sheep rancher who had a history of harassing hunters). The warden came out, talked to the rancher, and they never had another problem. However, they had to make a 70 mile round trip on gravel roads to refill their water jugs.

 

[ODB]

I was just checking out an area near emmet last weekend and had the same experience. Mostly due to someone owning a strip of land on either side of the road - or so it seemed based on the postings. I had my doubts...

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Access is also constantly changing. I had a piece of Forest Service land that I used to hunt that was acquired by a private citizen, probably in a land swap scenario. Anyway, there are now private property signs on it and the County GIS maps back it up. You just have to do more homework pre-season to make sure you have the most up to date info beforehand.

 

[mattferg84]

I saw a ton of mismarked public land here in Colorado a few years ago. These signs were 200-300 yards in National Forest. I took pics, marked them and sent them to the game warden. I was hunting the same area a few years later and got checked by that same game warden. He told me he checked and it was on National Forest so he took the signs down. Nothing happened to the landowner below there that put them up. I think it should be considered stealing to claim something that is not your own but nothing ever happened to them.

 

[tuffcity]

You should be able to get a copy of the property lines from your local county office that deals with that. A lot are online now as well. Get them to print you off a copy of the area (s) you want and leave a laminated copy on your dash, under where a nasty note would usually go, with a "you are here" X on it.

... and maybe a trail cam off to one side....

 

[Bear_Hunter]

Happens in AK too, really grinds my gears. People think they own 4 wheeler or snow machine trails they make on public land. At least up here, if someone posts state land, it is illegal and theoretically Troopers or DNR should have teeth to deal with it.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Had tires flattened this year also. Again...I realize it's a Pipe Dream. But I always thought that if a female makes unproven or substantiated sexual abuse claims, only to later confide in a medical professional or LEO that "He didn't really do it....I just was scared.....OR....I wanted to get back at my X".....THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

Would be nice to have some sort of "Teeth" in a law and hold those accountable.

Lotta extra work to research, print and laminate...but probably the best answer.

To the claim of Forest lands being sold to Private....I guess maybe. In all my travels I've not found USFS to be selling off much land. I'm in the market for some property bordered on all 3 or 4 sides by USFS tho...maybe I'll call? lol

Sure it can happen, just saying all the run ins this season are not quite the same. My goal using both OnX and BaseMap is to have two sets of data and updates. These Posted and Trespassing signs are generally weathered and old. Not something that appears to be brand new..."Hey we just spend 1.2 million on this chunk. It's private now" kinda look

 

[280Ackley]

That’s the Nez Perce tribe for you..........

 

[Coach529]

Happens all the time in places I hunt.

 

[CorbLand]

I have seen it here as well. If I know I am good, I generally walk past the sign but I am willing to fight it out if I was given a ticket.

There is a place here that there is a gate that says no trespassing but the actual property line is 100 yards past the gate. You can legally hop the gate, walk 99 yards and turn down the ridge and be completely legal. The east side of the ridge is private but the west side is public. I do this all the time and the landowner gives you a great glare when you do it but never says a word to you. It puts me in a pickle. I am all for public land and using it but damn, its nice that people don't know that you can do that.

 

[idelkslayer]

Go to the county assessor's office and ask about the specific parcels that you encountered. You should be able to verify land ownership.

 

[WCB]

Hunt it and be done if you are certain. Ran into it in Wyoming. Every map service country records, BLM records etc. showed it to be public. I hunted it and never thought twice.

 

[amassi]

Happens here (Ca) all the time, sometimes its hippies, sometimes pot grows, often its hunters that set cams and tree stands and dont want people walking in. Regardless if your sure its public hunt it

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[tim tarras]

Remember not all parcel lines are 100% accurate depending on how they were done or if the legal description is off. I would check with the local land information department.

Also be aware that some tribal lands are listed as US Government.

 

[hollarhorns]

I just encountered this for my first time, here in Missouri. Onx showed the land was public access but like you, I am wary of believing it 100%, especially with conflicting situations. I erred on the side of caution and when I returned home, I looked up the parcel in the current county assessor plat book. Sure enough, it was public. The signs hung on either gate post of a free-standing gate blocking the old two-lane (land is walk-in only). I called my local conservation agent, sent him pictures, and dropped a location pin. He checked it out, removed the signs. He told me to let him know if they reappeared and happy hunting but there wasn't much he could do. He said if I ever got a picture of someone hanging the signs, he could pursue it but didn't say to what degree.

I'd say it's much like tresspassing...hard to pin them down without iron clad proof. I've hunted that land some but honestly, I've constantly got my head on a swivel. My ears perk every time I hear a vehicle slow on the gravel, worried my truck will be the victim if the sign-hangers show up.

I hate that it's turned into this for some places.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I ran into this issue just last year. Someone had spray painted purple stripes (meaning private property) on trees and even across the Forest Service gate. I called the game warden, he said it was still public land and he had been having problems with land owners in that area harassing people.
I figured if there were land owners involved enough to harass people maybe that little spot was too crowded for me. Went back once after season and saw that the stripes on the gate had been painted over and the trees had been scraped.

Esse quam videri

 

[HydeParkHunter]

I work for a federal land management agency in Idaho and I was talking about this very subject with one of our Law Enforcement Officers the other day. He told me they carry a can of black spray paint in their patrol trucks as standard gear to spray over orange painted fence posts on public lands (orange = private property/no trespassing). THAT'S how common it is, unfortunately.

So what does he say to do when you come across this situation? Report it to the land management agency!

Both BLM and Forest Service have their own law enforcement officers on staff and they want to be made aware of these situations. Now... he said it is very important to give them precise location information. Can't just say "up Rock Creek a ways". Give them a Lat/Long, maybe take a picture, as much information as you can. Like most law enforcement they are spread pretty thin, but in my experience they take these reports seriously. And I know my guy has issued citations to offenders. So, it happens.

 

[Chris aka stlhntr]

I just ran into this very thing in MT posted the entrance to a designated 4x4 road that leads into public land fortunately I am a taxidermist here and know personaly several wardens I'll be reporting it